Epiphanies
by nikitatikin
Summary: [SasuSaku/Team7] Sasuke slowly learns what it really means to love and to be loved.
1. Hate

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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><p>Sasuke was seven when he learned the true meaning of hatred.<p>

At such a young and delicate age, he was tainted and morphed by the dark memories left behind by his brother. He would wake up every night in a cold sweat and cry like the child he was, pining for his mother's warmth and his father's comfort. Sometimes he'd wake up to find tears already streaming down his face. He'd dream of his friends and family surrounding him, all with happy smiles on their faces and for a second, he'd feel happy too. Then suddenly, it was all gone in a flash of red, and all he could see were the spinning eyes of the Mangekyo sharingan. And he'd wake up to find his small body covered in sweat and tears and his room quiet and dark and painfully empty.

At the Academy, he avoided everyone. He knew they all knew about what happened to his clan, and he wanted to hear nothing of it. Despite this, he could still hear their whispers and feel their stares. The teachers would act oblivious and smile, but he saw the pitied glances casted his way, too.

He hated the way they looked at him. He hated the way they spoke about him, the "Lone Survivor of the Uchiha Clan." He hated his brother for making him alone in this world. He hated his brother for killing their parents. He hated his brother for making him look weak in front of the entire village.

He hated his brother. And he would vow to get revenge.

One afternoon, he sat by himself at the corner of the open playground. Around him, the other kids were running around and playing like usual. It was a few weeks after the incident, so most of the initial shock passed and most of the kids forgot about it by now.

"Anou... Sasuke-kun?" He looked up to see a girl with ridiculously pink hair and an even more ridiculous red hair band. He looked at her blankly, expecting her to back away like most other girls did. But she blushed a bit and looked at her small teal colored sandals. "I... I, uh..." she stammered.

"Go away," Sasuke said sharply. He got up with every intention of storming away, but she caught his wrist and held him back. "Wait!" It seemed like she even shocked herself at the sudden move, and quickly pulled her hand back. "I wanted to give this to you!" The girl suddenly shoved a small bouquet of flowers in his face. They were daisies... bright, yellow and white daisies.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Flowers aren't for boys," he deadpanned.

"T-That's not what kaa-chan says," the girl didn't meet his eye when she spoke, "Kaa-chan says that flowers brighten up anyone's day, even if they're a boy. And you looked really sad recently, so..." She pushed the flowers towards him, the blush on her face getting pinker. "Please accept them."

Sasuke looked at the girl. She looked rather pathetic, in his opinion. He didn't even remember her name, and probably wouldn't even bother to remember it if he did. His eyes narrowed slightly. She probably pitied him too... she probably talked about him to the other kids, too. With that thought, he slapped the flowers out of her hand, and didn't bother to watch as they fell to the ground. "I don't want them," he said, and turned around to go back into the academy building. He didn't bother to look back and see her dejected face or the tears rimming her eyes.

That night he dreamed of a field of daisies being stained with red.

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><p><em>Next: Sasuke was twelve when he learned the true meaning of family.<em>


	2. Family

Sasuke was twelve when he learned the true meaning of family.

He cursed for what seemed like the millionth time that day, and ended up coughing in the midst of it. He held his chest as he coughed some more before reaching to his bedside table for a glass of water. He slowly drank the lukewarm water and sighed. He sniffed and cursed again. He knew it was a bad idea to practice in the rain yesterday, but wouldn't admit that out loud. He was thankful it was still raining today, so that he could spend the day in his apartment without anyone bothering him.

Suddenly, as if Kami himself was out to get him, a knock sounded at his door. "Sasuke-kun?" he heard the timid, familiar voice of his teammate. "Are you home?"

Maybe if he was quiet enough, she'd leave, he thought to himself and completely stilled.

"Sasuke-teme!" Naruto's louder voice, followed by rather loud pounding on his door, almost made Sasuke jump straight out of bed, "Open the damn door! I know you're in there!"

"Naruto, lower your voice. We don't want to disturb the neighbors." Sasuke's eyebrow twitched. Kakashi was with them, too?! "Sasuke, I can literally see you in there. Please open the door before Naruto breaks it down."

Sasuke cursed Kakashi and his stupid sharingan before dragging himself out of bed. Maybe that's why Kami was out to get him, because he cursed too much. Nonetheless, he cracked his door open just enough so he could glare at his team. "What do you want?" he grumbled.

"We've a mission summons," Kakashi said. "Hokage-sama said-"

"Are you sick?!" Sakura suddenly interrupted their sensei and was giving Sasuke a worried look. Sasuke was taken aback. How did she notice when he barely opened the door?

"Eh?" Naruto squinted at him, "He looks perfectly normal to me. Nothing special, obviously."

"Shut up, dobe," Sasuke tried to say, but his body betrayed him and he fell into a fit of coughs.

"See! I knew you were sick!" Sakura took advantage of his momentary weakness to open the door fully. "Go back and lay down," she ordered. Sasuke was about to open his mouth and say something along the lines of "How dare you order me," but alas, he couldn't speak through his coughs. So he allowed himself to be dragged back to his bed. The rest of his teammates followed suit and closed the door behind them.

"I can't get over how neat everything is in here," Sasuke heard Naruto say, "Sasuke-teme, you're such a neat freak!"

Sakura rolled her eyes at Naruto's antics and turned back to Sasuke. She pushed him gently so he was laying down and pulled the covers over him. She felt his forehead and frowned. "You have a fever," she commented. "Are you sneezing too?"

Sasuke managed to glare up at her. "It's just a cold," he said, his voice slightly hoarse from coughing.

"I don't think we can go on the mission, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura turned to Kakashi, who was also standing over Sasuke's bed. "If Sasuke-kun goes out, he'll just become more sick."

Kakashi hummed in agreement. "You're right. I'll go tell Hokage-sama so they can assign another team." Kakashi gave Sasuke a one-eyed smile. "Rest up!" he said before disappearing with a poof.

"Did you eat anything yet?" Sakura asked Sasuke. He responded with yet another glare. "I'll take that as a no." With a sigh, Sakura turned to his kitchen. "I'll make some porridge-Naruto, don't touch that or else it'll break!" Sasuke didn't even bother to look up at what Naruto was messing around with as Naruto whined in protest.

A few minutes later, Sasuke heard some rummaging around in his kitchen, and the voices of his two teammates. "Wow, Sakura-chan, I didn't know you can cook!"

"I can only cook the essentials," Sakura replied. "Porridge is pretty simple."

"Seriously? The most I can do is boil water," Naruto said sheepishly.

"That's because you don't try anything else, baka!" Naruto yelped as he was, presumably, hit over the head with a spoon by Sakura. This banter went on for a few more minutes and Sasuke found himself slowly drifting into sleep. He was briefly aware of someone, most likely Sakura, putting a cool cloth on his head to try and bring down his fever. He felt her hands brush away his bangs from his face and run her hands through his hair. On any other day, Sasuke would slap her hand away and call her annoying. But right now, the action felt strangely soothing, and he felt himself give in to slumber.

Sasuke woke up some time later to the smell of freshly made home cooked food... something he hasn't smelled in years. It made his chest tighten painfully, and not because of his coughing. His eyes drifted open and first noticed that it was considerably darker outside. He glanced out his window and saw that it was still raining, and that all of his lights were turned off.

He sat up to rest his back on the headboard of his bed. The cloth that was on his forehead fell to his lap. He started at it for a second before turning to his other side and taking in what laid before his eyes. Naruto was sprawled out lazily on the ground near his bed, snoring away soundly. Kakashi was leaning against the foot of his bed, his head lulled to his chest and his torso rising and falling with the movements of his steady breathing. His precious orange book was hanging off his arm. Lastly, his eyes fell to the mass of pink hair on the side of his bed. Sakura had fallen asleep at his bedside, her head cradled in her arms. Her mouth was slightly lax in relaxation. Her hair fell across her face, obscuring some of her features from his view. Sasuke had to stop himself from brushing her hair to the back of her ear. On his bedside table was a covered bowl of porridge, still warm, along with a cup of tea.

Sasuke couldn't stop the small smile that formed on his face.

A few days later, all of Team Seven's missions had to be put on hold, due to the fact that three out of four members had suddenly contracted a cold.

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><p><em>Next: Sasuke was fifteen when he learned the true meaning of death.<em>


	3. Death

Sasuke was fifteen when he learned the true meaning of death.

_"If you wish to kill me, resent me, hate me, and survive in obscurity. Run, keep running and cling to life. The one day come before me with the same eyes I possess."_

The last time he faced Itachi, he was a weak little boy. All he felt was the pain of watching his parents die in front of him, over and over. He felt the numbness that ensued, like all he was consumed by darkness and despair. That same darkness defined him for years, and his only goal was to live to see this moment.

_"Why are you so weak... you still lack hatred..."_

Now, after years of blood and sweat and deep, dark _hatred_, he was no longer that little boy charing head first. He finally felt like he was on parr with the older Uchiha, and that he could, he would win this fight.

He fought like he has never fought for anything in his life. He fought for the life of his parents and fellow clansmen. He fought for all the years he was alone, for all the nights he woke up crying for his mother, for all the nights he woke up screaming after falling into the pits of a certain man's sharingan.

He fought until there was literally no more fight in him, and then some. His body ached terribly, his wounds were bleeding profusely. His mind was swirling But all he could do was back into a wall and watch the man he's hated for years slowly walk towards him, arm stretched out and fingers itching to take out his eyes.

_"What do you see with your Sharingan?"_

Sasuke watched, hopeless and knees shaking, as Itachi, covered in his own blood, drew closer and closer... until he paused... those itching fingers poked his forehead... and big brother smiled. "Sorry, Sasuke," he said, the tone of his voice throwing Sasuke back years into the past, "This is the last time." He watched in silent horror as the light left his brother's eyes and he fell to the ground, lifeless.

For a while, he couldn't move. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't do anything but stare down at the unmoving body of Itachi... the man he's longed to kill for years. He imagined several thousand times in his youth what this moment would feel like. But nothing would compare to the emptiness that he felt... like someone had scooped the life and soul straight out of him. The rain began to pour, as if the heavens themselves mourned. He smirked at the irony and fell to his knees, the adrenaline finally leaving his body and everything fading to black.

_"You've become... strong."_

_"I just pretended to be the king of brother you wanted in order to measure you're vessel." _

_"They're my eyes... mine."_

Several hours later, when he would wake up and find out the truth behind Itachi's actions from Uchiha Madara, Sasuke would feel the emptiness being replaced by sorrow, sadness, anger, regret, confusion, betrayal. He would feel all these emotions blend into one and just tear him apart from the inside. He felt the darkness showing it's ugly face again, reaching out for his very soul.

_"You and I are brothers, and that's a unique bond. As a hurdle you must overcome, I'll... Even if you hate me. That's what being a big brother is."_

Several days later, when fighting Danzou, he could feel the darkness completely consume him. But he welcomed it with open arms, because it was the only way to get Itachi's voice to be heard.

_"I'll always be there for you."_

Several weeks later, when he was reunited with his dead brother again through Kabuto's Edo Tensei, their foreheads touching and Itachi smiling, Sasuke would come to the conclusion that he would not let his brother die in vain. He would not let Itachi's memory be one stained with the words "traitor" and "murderer." He would make a vow to himself that even in death, Itachi would be remembered as a hero.

_"You don't have to forgive me... No matter what you decide to do from now on... I will love you forever."_

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><p><em>Next: Sasuke was sixteen when he learned the true meaning of loyalty.<em>


	4. Loyalty

Sasuke was sixteen when he learned the true meaning of loyalty.

"Shit!" Sasuke skidded back on the rubble, his arms coming up to block the blows coming from around him. He took this brief moment to look around him. He's never been in a war before, but this is exactly what he imagined it would be like. The loud shouting of battle cries from the shibobi around him, the roars of the juubi behind him, the clash of metal, the stench of blood and sweat. It was barbaric.

Moments before this, he had come to a decision that would change his life forever. He had resolve within him so strong that he could feel it pulsate through his blood. He channeled this feeling into the determination to end this war.

"Sasuke, behind you!" In this small moment of weakness, he felt the weight of the juubi lurch the ground behind him and his body automatically prepared itself for impact. Suddenly, in a flash of pink and orange he was shoved out of the way and a rumbling in the ground made Sasuke finally snap to his senses. Naruto grabbed him around the abdomen and shoved him on the ground and out of the way, and Sakura had come from above to smash the juubi clone literally six feet into the ground.

"Get your head out of your ass, teme!" Naruto snapped at him as Sakura joined the three of them.

"Are you ok, Sasuke-kun?" she asked, genuine worry in her eyes. Sasuke barely glanced at her. "I'm fine," he snapped a bit more harshly than he intended. He acted like he didn't see the flash of hurt in Sakura's eyes before activating his Sharingan again and looking away. He saw her covered in other people's blood, her hands glowing green and her energy strong, yet soothing. _A medic_, he thought slightly impressed, _Her aura is much different from Kabuto's._

"Uchiha Sasuke." The three of them turned automatically dropped a battle stance when they saw Madara appear behind them.

"Madara."

_"_A clone?" Sakura hissed, holding a kunai in front of her, "Why show up now...?"

"You can relax, I'm just here to talk to my kinsman," Madara addressed Naruto and Sakura.

"Go to hell," Sakura spat, "What makes you think he'll want to talk to you?"

"Because we are the last of the Uchiha," Madara's tone was one that sounded like he was talking to a child, "As the most powerful clan in the world, we should be working together."

Sasuke frowned. "Why should I work with you?"

"You're not seriously giving this thought are you, Sasuke?" Naruto glanced at him, not once relaxing his stance.

"I'll come straight to the point," Madara said, waving a hand nonchalantly in the air, "It'd be a pity to kill you. Come to my side and we can all rule the world together."

"You're barking up the wrong tree," Sasuke said, "The only thing I want is your head on a stake." From the corner of his eye, he saw Sakura and Naruto both relax just a bit at this. He hid well the fact that he was a bit surprised at their distrust of him.

"That's too bad," Madara made a show of shaking his head disappointingly. "You didn't have anyone to tell you the true meaning of what it is to be an Uchiha shinobi. We Uchiha... we were meant to rule. We were given the sharingan for a reason. We were meant to control all shinobi."

"Screw you," Naruto barked. "You're the reason for all this destruction, how dare you even think of yourself as shinobi!"

"You call yourself a shinobi, Naruto?" Madara chuckled darkly, "Here you are, protecting a traitor. The same man who tried to kill you several times, and you still follow him like a little lost puppy."

Sakura stepped forward and was about to open her mouth, but Naruto cut her off. "He is my friend," Naruto said. Sasuke froze, his eyes widening in shock. "My shinobi way," Naruto continued, "Is that I never abandon my friends. Those who break the rules are trash. But those who abandon their loved ones... are worse than trash."

Madara barked out a quip of dark laughter. "I will enjoy killing you, Uzumaki Naruto. And you," he turned his eyes to Sasuke, shaking his head as if disappointed, "What a waste." In a puff of smoke, Madara's form was gone.

"Naruto, you... after all I've done...?" Sasuke was still stunned. How can this person, someone that he has tried to kill more times that he can count, someone who should hate him, someone who should not be defending him... how can Naruto still forgive him?

Naruto glanced at him once and offered his hand. "Shut up, teme, we've got a war to win."

Sasuke's eyes went from Naruto to Sakura who stood by Naruto with a smile. Finally, Sasuke smirked and let himself be pulled up. Sakura gently put a hand on his cheek, healing a small scratch there. Sasuke felt the warmth radiate from the skin of his face down to his toes. Nothing else was said between the three of them as they sprinted forward.

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><p><em>Next: Sasuke was nineteen when he learned the true meaning of friendship.<em>


	5. Friendship

Sasuke was nineteen when he learned the true meaning of friendship.

It was almost three years after the war ended, and things were finally starting to go back to normal in Konoha... at least, as normal as Konoha could ever get. Sasuke, as a missing nin, was put on trial for his actions as part of Akatsuki and for attacking the five Kages, but was not ultimately deemed as a traitor due to the large role he played in ending the 4th Shinobi War. Thus, he was cleared of all charges against him by the newly appointed Hokage (who just happened to be his ex-sensei) but to appease the worried minds of the council, only put him on probation for six months. He was promoted him to jounin two years after his probation ended.

Naturally, since he was the last out of his group of friends to become a jounin, there was a huge celebration thrown for him by Rookie Nine. All of them had forgiven him for any of his past sins and accepted him back with open arms, having all fought together on the front lines. The party was organized by none other than Sakura and Naruto, who were both promoted to jounin the year before him. They invited almost half of the entire shinobi population of Konoha. So, as one can imagine, the party was quite large.

Sasuke stood by the bar with a drink in his hand (the same drink that has been in his hand all night, mind you). The place his two friends chose was a bit over the top, but Sakura reassured him that the owner owed her a huge favor and that it would be a great time. Bright strobe lights illuminated the otherwise dark room, the walls vibrated with loud music. Everyone he knew passed the bar congratulated him cheerfully, offering to buy him a drink (which he politely declined).

"I have to admit, I did enjoy having a higher rank than the All Mighty Uchiha for a while," Kiba had said after extending his congratulations.

By his side, Sakura laughed before Sasuke could say anything. "Yes well you didn't have the privilege of skipping the chuunin exams because the five Kages agreed that it would be unfair to put any genin against the All Mighty Uchiha," she said with a touch of pride.

"Hey, don't forget me!" Naruto had chimed in, "I didn't have to take the chuunin exams either!" This was true; Kakashi saw no need for the arguably two most freaking powerful shinobi in the village to be in any competition against rookie genin. And, after seeing their massive joint success in ending the war, the other Kages agreed.

"You're obviously not as important, dobe," Sasuke said with a smirk while everyone else burst out in laughter.

Now, Sasuke watched in mild amusement as his childhood friends made complete fools out of themselves on the dance floor. They were all half drunk at this point, dancing and laughing and yelling happily. There was never a dull moment with them, Sasuke noted with a smirk. His eyes traveled the dance floor until they landed on a familiar head of pink hair.

She was laughing brightly as she danced with Ino and TenTen, her body swaying to the beat of the loud music overhead. Sasuke couldn't help but run an appreciative look down her figure. Sasuke would never admit this out loud, but Sakura did look quite nice today. She traded in her usual civilian clothes for a stylish skirt and red sequined top. Her hair was up in a high ponytail and her cheeks were slightly flushed from the alcohol.

Sasuke owed Sakura and Naruto almost everything. They was the one who advocated to the council to shorten his probation. They was the one who convinced the rest of Rookie Nine, as well as the majority of the village, that Sasuke not a threat nor was he a traitor. Sakura was the one who cried all night when she learned the truth about Itachi, and Naruto was beyond upset when the council refused to share the truth with the rest of the village. Sasuke would be no where near where he is today if it weren't for his teammates.

Though he insisted that rank didn't mean anything to him (a lie that Sakura could obviously see through; she would see Sasuke grimace every time Naruto wore his Jounin vest), Sakura did everything in her power to promote him as quickly as possible. Being Head Medic did have it's perks after all. She wasn't running after him proclaiming her love every hour like she used to, and Sasuke appreciated her maturation (in more ways than one).

"Having fun?" Sasuke turned out of his thoughts and saw Naruto approach him with a wide grin.

"If by fun you mean watching everyone I know make idiots out of themselves, then yes. I am having fun," Sasuke retorted smartly.

Naruto barked out in laughter, then smiled when Sakura appeared by his side, "If by fun, you mean brooding in his corner, then yes it looks like he's having lots fun," she said, slinging an arm around his shoulders playfully. Sasuke threw her a small glare, making her grin sheepishly in response.

"I'm not 'brooding'," he said. "This whole ordeal was unnecessary." He glanced at the dance floor, where Kiba and Chouji were in the midst of a rather epic (and drunken) dance battle.

"Relax for once, teme!" Naruto exclaimed, throwing an arm around Sasuke's shoulder. "You're an almighty powerful jounin now! Your chances of beating me has just increased a bit."

Sasuke scoffed. "I don't need any title or rank to kick your ass, dobe."

"Play nice, boys," Sakura said with a mock scolding tone. She motioned for the bartender to give them three shots, which were delivered to her in a matter of seconds. She handed one each to her teammates.

When Sasuke made a move to decline the drink, Sakura shoved it in his hand. "Don't be a wuss, Uchiha, drink up!" Sakura snapped. Naruto laughed loudly at this, making Sasuke roll his eyes. "Fine. Only one."

Sasuke couldn't help but to enjoy the way her eyes brightened when he obliged. She held the glass up in front of them. "To Sasuke!" she cheered happily.

"To Team 7!" Naruto cheered with her. Sasuke looked at them—his teammates, his family—and let a smile surface to his face as he clinked glasses with them.

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><p><em>Next: Sasuke was twenty one when he learned the true meaning of lust.<em>


	6. Lust

Sasuke was twenty one when he learned the true meaning of lust.

He didn't know when it started. But he did know that he could't stop.

Perhaps it started when Sakura started to forego her shirt during training sessions, leaving her in only her mesh undershirt and sports bra. Or maybe when he started to notice the way she bit her lip whenever she was deep in thought.

Or those light lingering touches on his arms.

Or the way she'd look at him straight in the eye and smile.

Or how her legs seemed like they went on for miles, seemingly over night.

Or the way her eyes, _those deep green piercing eyes_, lingered on him every now and then.

Sasuke didn't know when this had started. But he knew that it could not be stopped.

It was the late afternoon. Naruto, Sakura, and himself had returned from a week-long recon mission. As per tradition after a successful mission, Naruto led his teammates to Ichiraku's. He was animately chattering about who knows what, but Sasuke's attention was on Sakura. She had opened her Jounin vest in wake of the heavy mid-summer air, and a light sheen of perspiration shone on her forehead. Sasuke was swirling his ramen around with his chopsticks and was barely listening to the dobe blab on, but was paying sharp attention to Sakura's mouth and the way it moved when she spoke to Naruto. The way she licked her slightly parched lips.

Sasuke gulped.

"Ne, Sasuke-kun?" Sasuke was caught off guard when Sakura suddenly turned to him. Her green eyes wide and looking at him expectantly. He found himself imagining those same eyes looking up at him as he hovered over her, her pink hair splayed over his pillow and her lean legs wrapped around his waist—

"Hm?" was all he could get out. His gaze flicked to his pink haired teammate, who sat between himself and Naruto at the ramen stand.

"Oi teme, were you even paying attention?" Naruto accused.

"I tend to tune your annoying voice out, dobe," Sasuke replied swiftly.

"Naruto was saying," Sakura said quickly before Naruto could retort, "That we should pool in our money and buy Kakashi-sensei something nice for his birthday next month."

Sasuke shrugged, "Sure," he said, "Just as long as we don't buy any of those damned perverted books."

"Hey," Naruto piped in, mouth half full of ramen, "those books were written by a legend."

"I never understood what was so special about them anyway," Sakura said offhandedly as she began to twirl her ramen, "I mean they were written very well, Jiraiya-sama definitely had a way with words, but the plot and structure—"

"Wait wait wait," Naruto paused mid ramen slurp and turned to fully face her, "Are you... are you saying you _read_ Icha Icha Paradise...?" This spiked Sasuke's interest immensely, and he also turned to face his female teammate.

Sakura looked at the men surrounding her warily, "Well... yeah, just the last one that Jiraiya-sama published-"

"_You_ read Icha Icha Paradise...?" Sasuke had to repeat the question; the fact that she read those... those _pornos_ wasn't completely processing in his head.

Sakura chuckled, "You guys act like you're so surprised."

Naruto groaned and covered his eyes with both hands, "Sakura-chan, you've ruined me for life," he said dramatically, "I was with the Ero-senin when he wrote that. I was _there_ when he conducted his... research. The fact that you've read what I've experienced is disturbing." He shuddered at the thought.

"I never pegged you for the erotic literature type, Sakura," Sasuke said keeping up his cool demeanor. Inside, however, he couldn't get the image of Sakura reading porno, the way her breath would accelerate the more she read, her palms sweaty as turned the pages, the blush traveling from her face down to—

"Oh stop it," Sakura lightly chided with a small blush decorating her cheeks, "We're all grown adults, and I was curious as to what our old sensei has been reading all these years."

"Oh yes. I'm sure you've made Kakashi proud," Sasuke smirked while Naruto proceeded to fake gag.

Sakura's blush deepened and she tried to defend herself. "Don't tell me you guys have never been curious!"

"No."

"Hell no."

She rolled her eyes and waved them off, turning back to her ramen. "Whatever. You guys are acting like you're so innocent."

"Clearly we're not as innocent as you."

"Shut up!"

The rest of the evening went without any other incident. The three of them finished up and went on their separate ways. Sasuke tried to ignore the airy way Sakura said "See you tomorrow, Sasuke-kun," before turning away with her hips swaying as she walked. He watched her until she turned the corner and sighed tiredly before turning towards the path back to his own apartment.

The following morning, after a rather restless night of sleep—plagued with dreams of soft pink hair and soft supple skin, sighs, and pouty smiles—Sasuke woke with a rather uncomfortable... problem in his pants. After spending an extra 10 minutes under a cold shower, he locked his front door and made his way out of his house to the Hokage office to deliver his report.

Now, Sasuke knows Sakura. He has known her for practically half his life. He knows her favorite color (red, contrary to popular belief), what foods she likes and dislikes (hates spicy foods, always gets an extra egg in her ramen), her favorite flower (orchids, also contrary to popular belief), her favorite shuriken shop, which brands of kunai she preferred, he even knows her shoe size. All this was mostly due to the fact that they've been teammates for so many years. Nonetheless, Sasuke could say that he knows Sakura pretty well.

And Sakura is not the type of person to blatantly try and seduce anyone, especially him. He was under the impression that they were just friends... really good friends. But then again, friends don't fantasize about other friends the way Sasuke did of Sakura. But still, Sasuke knew Sakura never had a boyfriend, never really had a real kiss, and almost always declined any man that asked her out on a date. She'd go on a few dates here and there but Sasuke never recalled her mentioning going on consecutive dates. He knew she was not well versed in the art of seduction (even if she did read Icha Icha Paradise).

So when he saw Sakura bending over from the waist down to adjust her sandals right in front of his apartment building, her hair falling in front of her ears and her shorts riding up just enough to show some extra skin and the lean muscles of her hamstrings, the feminine line of her curves drawing his eyes down, it stopped Sasuke right in his steps.

She turned and looked up when she sensed him exit the building. She tucked her hair behind her ear and smiled brightly at him. "Oh good, you're awake," she said, straightening her back to address him, "I was going to come up and wake you if you weren't. But then again you're always up at dawn no matter how late you go to sleep." She blushed a bit at her rambling and cleared her throat, "Anyway, I was wondering if you wanted to train with Naruto and Sai after dropping off our reports to Kakashi-sensei."

Sasuke blinked. For a moment, he thought of grabbing her by the elbow, flash stepping to the nearest alleyway and finally having his way with her. He thought of how she'd be surprised at first, but then accept him as their lips finally met, heat rising from both of their bodies as his hands traveled under her shirt, over the skin of her thighs, her mouth parting and letting out a moan as their tongues meet. Her arms tightening around his neck and pulling him closer, his knee parting her legs so he could comfortably hitch her higher against the wall and touch her, _feel_ her—

But he wouldn't. He couldn't. Sakura is his teammate, his friend. He respects her as a kunoichi and as a woman and wouldn't violate her in such a way... not while he was still in control of his temptations. So he found himself simply nodding in agreement to her early suggestion and turning his gaze away as her eyes brightened.

They chatted lightly on their way to the Hokage's office, speaking about the weather, the details of their mission report, the upcoming chuunin exams that they were proctoring. Sakura knew Sasuke's not the talkative type, so when there were silent gaps in their conversations, they were comfortable and unstrained. Sasuke tried his best to ignore the way their arms would brush every so often as they walked side by side, or the way her brilliant eyes would look up at him when he spoke to her.

Kakashi looked up at them as they entered his office. "Well, aren't you two a pretty sight on this fine morning," he said, a fond smile forming under his mask. Sasuke rolled his eyes and Sakura hid her blush by lightly coughing. They discussed their mission in brief before Kakashi dismissed them with a knowing wink.

At the training grounds, they decided to spar in separate groups of two. Of course, Sasuke was pitted against Sakura by Naruto, who sniggered behind their backs as they walked to the middle of the training ground.

"Taijutsu only. No weapons, no ninjutsu, and no doujutsu," Sakura said throwing a knowing look at Sasuke.

He just smirked and fell into stance. "Fine. That means no monstrous strength either."

Sakura smiled and dropped into a similar fighting stance. "Fine."

Before Sakura could blink, Sasuke disappeared from in front of her. She had just barely sensed him behind her before she managed to jump out of the way of his fist. In a flurry of limbs, Sakura managed to keep up with Sasuke's speed, switching from offense to defense almost constantly. Sasuke found himself being slightly distracted during their fight. He watched her lithe body move with trained accuracy. Her torso swiftly turning and her glistening skin catching the light. Her chest heaving up and down and sweat dripping down her neck.

Sakura blocked his roundhouse kick with her forearm and grabbed his calf, twisting him away from her and aiming a punch at his kidney. Sasuke landed swiftly on his hands and flipped onto his feet before swinging at her again. Sakura smirked and blocked his fist, turning to aim a high kick at his neck. Sasuke caught her ankle and was about to push her away when she used his weight against him. She pushed off the ground with her hands and swung her other knee towards his hip, knocking the both of them to the ground with her on top. Sasuke blinked and Sakura's forearm was agains this throat and her other hand pinned his writs above his head. Her knees were on either side of his hips, trapping him from the waist up. They were both panting and sweaty, gazes locked.

Sakura smirked. "I win," she said with a smile growing on her face. It wasn't every day you get to beat Uchiha Sasuke, and she was damn proud of it.

Sasuke, on the other hand was aware of every single sensation in his body. That included the feel of Sakura's strong thighs on either side of his hips, the puffs of hot breath on his face coming from her mouth, the rapid rise and fall of her torso as she tried to catch her breath, the heat of her perspiration mixed with his, her eyes filled with mirth and excitement. Her tongue darted out and licked her upper lip that was specked with dots of sweat. Sasuke's eyes followed the small muscle, entranced and fixated.

Temptation had it's grip on him so hard that he couldn't see straight. And suddenly, he had enough.

He blinked, his eyes turned red, and before Sakura knew it she was flipped and pinned down in a similar fashion to the way Sasuke was just a moment ago. The wind was knocked right out of her when her back hit the ground and she glared up at Sasuke. "What the hell Sasuke-kun, I said no doujustu—"

Words escaped her. Not because she couldn't find them, but because Sasuke's mouth suddenly covered hers and she couldn't speak, think, or _breathe_. He was kissing her and kissing her and everything was too hot—but then she found herself throwing caution to the wind and _fuck this, when are you going to get this opporutnity again? _and she was kissing him back. Sasuke's body acted before he could even think about what was happening but he didn't care because all he could feel was the delicious sensation of his lips against hers. His hands traveled from her wrists above her head and smoothed down her arms, feeling the skin he's been dreaming about, swallowing the sigh from her mouth as he tilted his head to kiss her deeper, tasting the tip of her tongue as it shyly prodded his.

And suddenly, it was over. Sasuke drew back from her ever so slightly, opening his eyes and watching the blush on her face as she did the same. He smirked and licked his lips, tasting her all over again and said lowly,

"I win."

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><p><em>Next: Sasuke was twenty two when he learned the true meaning of devotion.<em>

_Thank you everyone for the reviews and favorites!_


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